My Fair Bonnie Lass
by dreamer-girl-reana
Summary: Clay Morrow was fairly sure that if there was a God, He hated him. And anyways, since when had he started running a refugee camp for ex-Irish patriots? Chibs/OC
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: **To everyone who has read this before and wondered what happened, I completely spaced about keeping my summary K rated. Obviously the term 'shitting' isn't K rated, so the admins pulled the story and froze my account for a week. I'll be putting the chapters back up and updating soon now that I'm done with school. Sorry everyone!_

Clay Morrow was fairly sure that if there was a God, He was shitting on him. There was just way too much going on for Him _not_ to be. Three months ago it had all been so peaceful, and within the span of a few weeks' time everything had gone to hell. Three months ago SAMCRO had gotten a new addition—a patch over from the Belfast chapter in Ireland. The kid, Aedan Callaghan, had been getting tired of Ireland, and particularly Jimmy O's sway over the chapter, and had asked to be transferred. Clay didn't have any qualms about accepting the kid—the president of the Belfast chapter had only good things to say about him. He'd only recently fully patched over, and had spent the past three years prospecting, an unusually long time in Clay's opinion. But he'd learned everything he needed to, and was good with cars to boot. Clay knew he'd fit in, and after Aedan had gotten the vote from his charter, he'd patched over. There had been a brief issue over his sister—someone who had regularly hung around the charter in Ireland—who he had wanted to join him in California. She, however, had apparently been dating some boy from town and hadn't wanted to leave 'her boys'. So, Aedan had come alone, and fit in surprisingly well. All the boys enjoyed his company, and Chibs had been more than pleased to see a familiar face from home. With the patching over of Aedan, however, had come way more complications than Clay had been willing to deal with.

_Aedan had been on his first real job with SAMCRO. He, Tig, Chibs and Bobby had been in charge of breaking into a safe house just on the edge of town. Someone had agreed to testify in the case that the feds were trying to make against the club for dealing arms. Unfortunately, that had meant tracking down who it was, where they were being kept, the works. The club had managed to track the guy to a safe house, and had gotten in without any trouble. The guards and one agent that had been guarding the place were unconscious, tied up in the front room. Alex, the guy who'd ratted on them and had previously worked for the Real IRA, found himself in a nasty predicament—tied to a chair, four big bikers threatening his life unless he promised not to testify. Midway through threatening him, something caught Bobby's attention. He pulled Chibs to the side, whispering to him and pointing towards the front door. The Scotsman glanced over, pulling his mask down, gun out, and nodded._

"_Something wrong?" Aedan questioned, Bobby shaking his head._

"_Nah, just figured it'd be a good idea to have someone at the front door, just in case."_

_Aedan didn't push the issue, and the remaining three went back to questioning the guy._

_Chibs, however, walked silently into the front room, wary of the possibility that Bobby had been right and someone else was in the house. What he saw, however, was not what he'd been expecting. Standing in the doorway, black mask pushed up atop their head, was a young woman. Her skin was fair, auburn hair braided down her back, and she held a gun in one of her gloved hands. She wore all black, and her eyes were fixed on the three people unconscious on the floor. When she glanced up, it looked like was about to scream. Her eyes, an impossibly bright shade of the deepest green Chibs had seen, locked onto him. Neither of them spoke, but she quickly turned to the door, shut it and locked it. She clicked the safety of her gun on, setting it onto the side table, pulled her mask off and extracted what looked to be a satellite phone from her pocket. Typing a number in quickly, she put the phone to her ear, waiting for whomever she was calling to answer. When they did, she spoke quickly, and Chibs almost gaped when he heard the familiar Irish accent that coated her words._

"_Michael, I need ye tah do me a favor…no questions asked, just do it…alright?"_

_She waited for him to reply, before taking a slow breath, "Go into my room and look under the bed. There should be a black duffel…got it? Good, don't look inside. Go across the street…"_

_Once more, she paused, waiting for the man, Michael, to reach his destination, "Knock three times on Mr. Faegan's door. When he opens up, tell him what I say word for word."_

_Another pause before, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. She'll see you in another life…got it? Good. Just give it to him; he'll know what to do."_

_The woman fell silent again, listening once more, longer than before, "Michael, I can't tell yeh, and I probably won't see yeh again. Just know that I love yeh like a brother…stay with the boys, and ye'll be safe…goodbye."_

_Chibs wasn't sure whether he should shoot the woman or question her, but all he could do was stare at her as she put the phone to her ear again, "Hello Mr. Faegan…yah, it's time…I dunno, but whatever yer thinking, Jimmy wants me dead…no, there aint nobody here, no gun runners anyways. He fuckin' set me up is what…no, Aedan can't find out I'm here, it'll just put him at risk…"_

_She remained silent for a minute, listening carefully to whatever this Mr. Faegan was telling her, before letting out a shaky breath, "I know…just, tell Nathan that I love him, and that he has to move on. He can't wait for me, or come find me, he needs to find someone—what?"_

_The color drained from the woman's face in an instant, eyes widening and liquid forming around the rims of the deep green orbs, "I…understand…prolly just Jimmy tyin' up loose ends…I…I have to go. Thank yeh for everything…I'll see yeh in another life."_

_When the call ended, she dropped the phone to the ground, picked up the gun, flicked the safety off and shot it several times. That had gotten the boys attention, just in time for her to look up at Chibs._

"_I ain't here to hurt yeh…just let me be on my way. I never saw nothin', I swear," she said quietly, setting the gun down again and holding her hands up. Bobby, Tig and Aedan rushed into the room, the Sergeant-at-arms speaking first._

"_What the fuck is going on? And who the hell is she?"_

_It was Aedan, however, who answered their questions, "Holy Mary, mother of God…sis? What the hell are yeh doing all the way out here?"_

_The girl's head snapped to Aedan, eyes widening again as she took a step backwards, "Aedan? Fuck…yeh weren't supposed to see me. Yeh can't know I'm here," she muttered, their new member walking over and grabbing her shoulders, forcing her to calm down as he muttered to her in Gaelic._

_The two talked quietly, Chibs only picking up bits of their conversation, grateful that he understood the language. Bobby and Tig just looked lost, until the two separated. She looked sad, tired, defeated, and he seemed torn between joy and sorrow._

"_We better finish up and go back…Clay'll want to know about this."_

And so there they sat, all the members gathered around the table, Aedan picking at his nails while they sat in silence, trying to decide what to do. From what he'd said, his sister, Ailis, had been friends with all the SAMBEL members, and had known Jimmy O and his crew for a long while, as they all had. Jimmy had sent her stateside to deal with someone he'd claimed was a threat to the business deal between the Real IRA and the Sons of Anarchy. Loyal to the club, and their mother chapter, she'd immediately agreed—what choice did she have anyways? Saying no to Jimmy O was a death wish, and everyone knew it. When she'd arrived, however, she had quickly realized that he'd sent her into a trap. One lonely girl with a .38 handgun against three armed and well trained guards was a death warrant. She'd wasted no time having her emergency bag—packed with forged documents and all sorts of goodies—dragged from her house and sent over. But now they had to decide what to do with the girl. She posed a definite threat to the club—if Jimmy O wanted her dead, then there must be some reason. Harboring her was a danger…but at the same time, she was an innocent young woman. Aedan had made it clear that if she went, he would go too. His sister, also his twin, was not going to go anywhere unprotected, and if he was the only one willing to keep an eye out on her, then he'd do whatever necessary—even leave SAMCRO and the Sons for good.

"All in favor?" Clay said, watching as every single member raised their hand.

"Alright…tell your sister she can stay."


	2. Chapter 2

_Just a note, Ailis' name is pronounced A-lish. Thought I'd point that out for anyone who's not familiar with Irish names._

When Aedan and the other Sons exited Chapel, he was wrought with too many confusing emotions. He was glad to see Ailis, irritated that she hadn't told him she was coming, angry that she had refused to come in the first place. Primarily, though, he was confused. Why had she come now, when she'd been so adamant about staying in Ireland? What the hell had she been doing in an FBI safe house? And more importantly, why did she look like the world had just collapsed around her? Some of the Sons gave her a pat on the back or a smile as they passed, others just gave her confused looks and ignored her completely as they passed by—she didn't seem to notice either reaction.

Approaching his sister, Aedan knelt down in front of her. Gently, he forced her chin up to look at him, frowning at the hints of tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong _ceann beag_?" he questioned, expecting to get some sort of reaction out of her for his teasing nickname. But instead, she simply shook her head, dropping her gaze away from him, vibrant auburn hair falling down to hide her face.

"_Ceann beag_…please, tell me what's going on," he prodded, a pleading tone to his voice. Ailis had always been a strong girl, just like their mother. She'd lived in some pretty shady conditions that most people would shudder to think about, but that she had embraced and owned. Yet there she sat, looking more vulnerable and broken than he'd ever seen her. He kneeled before her, repeating his question, begging her to speak to him for about an hour. Finally, Chibs walked by and put his hand on his shoulder.

"C'mon Aedan, it's been a long day. Ya go home and get some shut eye. I'll put Ailis up in the spare dorm for the night. Maybe she'll feel like talkin' in the mornin'."

Aedan was clearly more exhausted than he looked, and agreed, if not a little hesitantly. He didn't even realize that they didn't _have_ a spare dorm in the club house.

"_Deirfiúr oíche mhaith álainn_," he said quietly as he pressed a kiss to his twin sister's forehead.

"Take care of her, Chibs."

"Aye, I will," he replied, watching the Irishman exit the building. The club house was fairly quiet, no revelries going on tonight. Left with Aedan's twin sister, who was clearly going through something painful, Chibs tried to figure out how best to handle the situation.

"Ya gonna' talk to me?" he questioned, the girl not making any move to indicate she'd heard, or understood, what he'd just said. Chibs sighed, and bent down, picking the girl up in his arms and walking her back towards the dorms. The girl looked more like a shell-shocked soldier than an 18 year old girl. Christ, he forgot how young Aedan was sometimes, and to think his twin sister had endured just as much. What the hell had she been doing in and FBI safe house anyway?

Chibs pushed the thoughts from his mind as quickly as he could. The girl was hurting inside, and when she had come to grips with everything, she'd tell them what had gone down. Until then, he supposed he better get used to the silence. Aedan never shut up, and he supposed that his twin sister must at least be chatty—no doubt her silence and Aedan's concerned silence would be odd getting adjusted to. He opened the door to his dorm, closing it with his foot behind them, and setting Ailis on the bed.

"There…sorry, it's a bit of a mess. Didn't think we'd be havin' company," he said, quietly, Ailis staring at the ground. Chibs sighed and walked over to her. He pushed the auburn hair from her face, kneeling down to stare at her.

"I know whatever happened to yeh, yeh must be hurtin'. Aedan just wants tah help…all of us do. Yeh ever need anyone to talk to, just let one of us know, yeh hear?" he said, not expecting a reply of any sort. So when Ailis nodded weakly, he was thoroughly surprised.

"Good," he said as he pulled the covers back and motioned for her to get under the covers. She did as he asked, pulling her feet underneath and setting her head gingerly on the pillow, as though it might just bite her.

"Try tah get some sleep…I'll see yeh in tha mornin'," he said, before he turned to exit the room. Right as he was about to turn the light out, she called out, her voice startling him.

"I know who yeh are…Jimmy used tah talk about yeh all the time…braggin' like the cocky bastard he is…I'm sorry what he did tah yer family," she said quietly, Chibs turning and looking at her.

"Christ…I didn't know yeh were with Jimmy," he muttered, trying to keep the unpleasant memories at bay. The scars were only just finishing their long healing process, and the reminder of what had happened before he'd been excommunicated made his face ache.

"I wasn't…not really. But when he gives yah an order…yeh don't say no."

"Aye…ain't that the truth," Chibs replied, watching her shift to get comfortable, "I'll see yeh in the mornin', Ailis."

"Right…see yeh in the mornin'."

As soon as Chibs had left, Ailis let the tears she'd been holding back fall. At first, she was silent, but eventually the sobs started wracking her body, her whimpers turning into quiet wails as she hugged her knees tightly to her chest, trying to banish everything that had happened that day from her mind. She'd lost everything. _Everything_. Sure, she was with Aedan now, but what had she given up in exchange? Her entire life, that's what. There was no way she could ever go back to Ireland now, not after what Jimmy had done to her. The message had been clear—never come back…if you manage to survive.

What the hell had she done to invite Jimmy O'Fallon's wrath upon her head? She'd steered clear of the Real IRA as much as she could, and had made sure the Sons in Belfast were willing to protect her. There was literally no reason for him to want her dead…unless her death served some higher purpose. Jimmy was an asshole, so Ailis wasn't surprised at the idea that he'd been using her death for something else—he used whomever he wanted. So long as he got what he wanted in the end, it didn't matter who had to fall to achieve his goals.

Ailis got little sleep that night, most of the hours spent curled up, sobbing quietly once the violent sobs had quieted down. Little did she know that a certain Scotsman could hear everything from the couch down the hall. Technically, Chibs could've slept on one of the comfortable couches in the main area of the club, but he felt guilty leaving Ailis by herself, and had taken the smaller, much harder, couch that resided in the hallway that the dorms were connected to. For hours he sat there, listening to her cry, feeling terrible that he couldn't do anything to help her…not yet anyways. Finally, around 4 in the morning, the sobs quieted down, and then stopped all together. He waited for another fifteen minutes, listening for sounds that she was still awake and crying, before he too finally fell asleep, mind wandering through the possibilities of what had happened to Ailis Callaghan.


	3. Chapter 3

The morning after Ailis Callaghan had showed up in Charming the entire club was wary of why the girl had been there. More importantly, they were all wondering what an 18 year old girl, protected by SAMBEL and SAMDUN, was doing in an FBI safe house with a loaded gun. Whatever she thought she'd been there to do, the situation she had walked on was clearly not what she'd been expected. That only brought more questions and speculations. Had she been set up? Was the entire thing just a set up for them? Who had sent her and why would they send a little girl to do their dirty work? Aedan had raved about his twin sister since the moment he'd patched over, and he'd tried to get her to come over several times to no avail. However, he had made no mention of her being part of the Sons business end, especially the business end that involved icing people. The shock on his face when he'd realized that his sister had been sent there to kill someone was genuine; nobody doubted that if she had somehow gotten involved in the business end of the Sons Aedan had no idea about it. The young man insisted, however, that something was severely amiss—his twin sister would _not_ be involved in something like this. Ever.

Regardless of her true nature, the club was still posed with a problem. She'd come a little too close to ruining their mission to scare off the witness who'd agreed to testify…which had just ended with him dead on the floor. To top it off, she now seemed to be in a precarious situation—whoever had sent her to do the job was clearly not intending for her to come back. Going home wasn't an option, and now that Aedan had his twin back, everyone in the club knew that the boy wouldn't let her go. Fresh out of church, all the Sons were trying to wrap their head around the events that had brought the little girl into such a nasty situation. The clubhouse was uncharacteristically quiet, everyone wary of the girl who seemed to be sleeping. No more than a few minutes after church had let out, however, the young woman in question appeared, looking like she hadn't slept at all. Aedan had, apparently, left her clothes to change into, however, as she was wearing a SAMBEL t-shirt that was a smidgen too large and a pair of jeans that were clearly Aedan's, a celtic cross embroidered on one of the back pockets. Auburn hair was once again braided down her back, looking much too clean to have been slept on, and though she looked exhausted, her eyes were alert, gaze shifting from one member of the club to the next. Aedan was at her side in an instant, pulling her into a hug.

"Sleep at all, _mo ghile_?" he questioned, the girl who looked so uncannily like her twin shrugging.

"A little…much as can be expected."

For a minute, she locked eyes with Chibs, staring at him as though trying to decide something before she shrugged out of her brother's embrace.

"_A bhfuil__siad ag iarraidh__mé__an fhágáil__? __Measaim go bhféadfadh__sé a bheith__ag smaoineamh maith__dom__dul__..._" she muttered, some of the Sons blinking in confusion.

Tig leaned over to Chibs, nudging his shoulder, "The fuck is she saying?"

If either Ailis or Aedan heart the two, they payed them no attention.

"She wants to know if we want her to go...thinks it's a good idea for her ta leave."

"Are yeh out of yer bleedin' mind?" Aedan replied, a frown appearing on his sister's lips, "Yeh could've died if we hadn't been there, and now yeh want to run off? No...it ain't gonna happen."

"_Aedan__...__Jimmy__ba mhaith__liom__marbh__. __Níl a fhios agam__cén fáth__, __ach__is cuma__. __Má__fanacht__mé__, __chuir mé__an club__ar fad__i mbaol__,_ " she said, Aedan's eyes widening slightly, the only evidence that what she'd said surprised him. Chibs, however, could only muster a frown for the girl who had, apparently, incurred Jimmy O's wrath. What had she done to piss him off? Aedan had sworn up and down that she was a good kid, and avoided getting tangled up with the Sons or their...allies.

"What was that?" Tig demanded, Chibs shaking his head, Aedan still staring at his sister. Ailis sighed and turned her attention to the Sons who were eyeing her and her brother suspiciously.

"I said that Jimmy set me up," she said clealy, the Sons giving one another sideways glances, "He said...he said a lot of things that were clearly lies."

"Like what?" Aedan demanded, immediately going into his overprotective brother mode, "What the fuck did he say?"

Ailis turned her gaze to her brother and Chibs swore he saw the faintest hints of tears in her eyes.

"Said you were...he..." she said, hesitating and choking on her own words as the tears welled up in her eyes, "He said you were dead, that that Alex guy turned his back on the IRA, killed you to prove a point and get away."

Aedan's eyes widened, the Sons looking at one another warily. Framing a little girl no more than 18 years old was just messed up. Chibs gritted his teeth, unable to push away the memory of Jimmy excommunicating him. The man didn't give a shit who he had to step on to get his way. If Jimmy O wanted something, he fucking got it. What did getting Ailis accomplish? Jimmy hadn't kicked Aedan out of Ireland. In fact, the arms dealer seemed pretty damn fond of the kid.

"Ailis..._ghile_, what'd he do?" he questioned, "When yeh came in, who did yeh call?" he questioned, but his sister just shook her head, biting back the tears and wiping the few that had fallen off of her cheeks.

"Called in a favor...my bag's on my way. Fake passports, money, that sort of thing. Just necessities," she mumbled, Aedan staring at his twin sister. He'd left an innocent girl who'd been vaguely aware of what happened in his life, and could take care of herself, but who avoided getting involved. When had she decided a go bag was necessary? Had things been this fucked up when he'd been in Belfast and Dunglowe, or was this a new side of his sister?

"Ailis..."

"Don't," she said, "I don't want to talk about it right now. I just have to get everything straight in my head...I'll let yeh know when I'll have to go."

"Go? Fuck that! Yer not going anywhere, Ailis. Jimmy O wants yeh dead, yer staying right fuckin' here so I can keep an eye on yeh."

"Jimmy don't care if he's gotta step on the Sons toes to get to me. If he wants me gone, he ain't gonna play nice. Ain't gonna put yehs in danger just because yeh don't want me going...yer all I've got left" she replied, holding up a hand when Aedan immediately started trying to convince her otherwise, "It's final, Aedan. Ain't gonna let yeh get yerself killed because I did something to piss Jimmy off."

Aedan stayed silent for a minute, before the young man started shouting at his sister in Gaelic, almost so fast and slurred that Chibs couldn't pick it up. Snippits of the conversation made sense, Ailis shouting right back at the twin brother who was, apparently, quite good at getting a rise out of her. The two were standing there, shouting and motioning violently with their hands when Clay walked in.

"Both of you fuckin' Mics shut the hell up!" he thundered, the two instantly quieting down, looking slightly like scorned kids.

"This is my club, my town. I'll decide what happens with the girl. Until then, you better sit tight, princess. And Aedan, you two start shouting like children in that gibberish, I'll take back that patch."

Neither of the Callaghan siblings looking pleased, they just nodded, Ailis turning as soon as it appeared Clay was done.

"Ailis!" Aedan called, moving to follow her when Chibs grabbed his arm.

"Let 'er go calm down," he said, "somethin' else is eating at her. Just give her some space."


	4. Chapter 4

After her initial appearance that morning Ailis didn't come back out of Chibs' dorm room until well into the evening. In fact, after Aedan had stood outside and pleaded with her to come out and eat, all it had taken to get her out was Chibs walking in. The sight of his room, however, was rather shocking to the Scotsman. The bed was made, dressers and desk cleaned off, all his clothes put away, dirty things in a hamper in the closet. The Scot stood silently for a moment, watching Ailis fluffing the pillows on his bed before tossing them into place. When she turned around, finally aware of the man staring at her, she looked at the floor bashfully.

"I'm sorry…when I'm anxious I clean," she muttered, Chibs arching an eyebrow, "Shouldn't have gone through yer stuff…sorry."

"It's alright, lass," he replied, "Did a hell of a job. This place was absolutely disgusting."

Initially, Chibs didn't quite believe his eyes, but when she laughed quietly, he knew that she was in fact smiling at him. Odd how surprising a little gesture like that could be, and he couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Aye, that it was. Yah boys are all tha same, leavin' yer mess wherever you please," she replied, the faintest teasing tone to her words, "But I s'pose I can forgive yeh. You've got better thing tah do."

"Like make sure yeh don't starve to death," he replied, motioning for her to come over to where he was in the door, "Gemma left some food here for yeh if yer hungry, or we can go get yeh somethin' from a restaurant."

Although Ailis was about as stubborn as her twin brother, she knew that not eating because she didn't want to face the men she'd thrown a fit in front of was a stupid choice.

"From what Aedan's said, it'd be pretty stupid of me tah turn down Gemma's cookin'…for more than one reason."

When the two appeared in the main room of the clubhouse the conversation instantly quieted, some of the Sons giving her wary looks, half expecting her to start screaming. When she realized that they were not only staring, but shifting around so that they wouldn't have to come into any close contact with her, she let out a quiet sigh and turned to face them.

"I'm sorry for my behavior this mornin'," she said calmly, small frown on her lips, "It's been a rough week, as I'm sure yeh all can understand, but it was inappropriate and childish of me to take it out on my brother in front of yeh all."

After a moment, when nobody had replied, a dark haired man with bright blue eyes stood up and clapped a hand on her shoulder, "See? Told you she wasn't totally fuckin' nuts," he said, grinning down at her before he extended his hand to her.

"Tig, Sergeant-at-Arms. Nice to meet you," he said, Ailis cracking a small smile and shaking his hand back.

"Ailis, resident runaway. Nice to meet you too."

That coy introduction had been the spark to light a fire, and before long she was sitting at the bar, Chibs behind her, as all the Sons introduced themselves. Apparently they'd all thought she was either butt fucking crazy, or completely off her rocker which, given the way she'd acted with her brother, was an understandable opinion. Things had returned to normal after that, Ailis sitting at the bar and eating the food Gemma had left her, Chibs hanging around like some guardian watch dog, and the boys all returned to doing whatever it was they'd been doing before she'd dropped in on their lives. Eventually even Chibs warmed up to her, and the two started talking about Irish and Scottish weather, the food native to both countries (unanimously agreeing that while it was comfort food for them, the stuff in America tasted better), and just about anything else that came to mind. In fact, Ailis had almost managed to forget about her shitty situation…until Aedan came back.

"Ailis, you're alive," he teased, his twin sister rolling her eyes as he ruffled her hair and gave her a hug, eyeing the leftovers on her plate.

"Take the food," she said, pushing it to the chair next to her, Aedan immediately sitting down, "I swear, yer always hungry."

Aedan just chuckled, "Yeh say this like it's news. I swear, between Des and I, I don't know how we didn't eat yeh out of house and home."

Though Aedan was oblivious to his sister's reaction, her reaction didn't go unnoticed by the Scot to her right. At the mention of this Des fellow, she immediately stiffened up, pained look coming to her eye as one finger absently went to trace the claddagh ring on her right hand, the heart facing inwards, crown out—single? Hadn't Aedan mentioned some boy that she had wanted to stay with in Ireland? Why single?

"Speaking of," Aedan said between bites, "How is ol' Des? Treating you well?"

Ailis tensed up, her eyes immediately dropping to stare fixedly at the bar, "If he hurt you," Aedan began when he saw her reaction.

"Aedan, don't," she muttered, "It's rude to speak ill of the dead."

"What?" Aedan demanded, obviously not catching on instantly.

"He's dead, Aedan. Des is dead…pretty sure it was Jimmy's doing too. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go before I start actin' stupid."

Before her brother could protest, Ailis was out of her seat, heading back towards the rooms as she left Aedan to reflect on this new piece of information. Chibs could see the gears turning in Aedan's head as he likely tried to figure out the same questions running through Chibs' mind. How the hell had a girl as young as Ailis end up on Jimmy's shit list? If she'd done anything to piss the man off, she either didn't know what it was, or she was a better liar than she was given credit for. Chibs put a hand on Aedan's shoulder when he made a move to stand up and shook his head at the younger Son.

"Maybe it'd be best if we just let her have some time to herself to think," he suggested, Aedan frowning. The twins, though similar in many ways, knew they dealt with rough news in very different ways. Aedan vented, threw fits, shouted at the heavens—whatever physical actions he had to do in order to calm down. Ailis, on the other hand, usually locked herself away, mourning in private until she'd gotten a grip on herself and could deal with everything. Aedan just huffed, unhappy that he couldn't do anything to help the pain that his sister was in.

"Perhaps we ought to try and figure out what Jimmy wants yer sister dead for…must be pretty pissed if he iced her boyfriend too."

"Yeah…no shit. Poor kid…Des was a nice guy, treated her like a queen. Sad to hear he's gone…"

Before either of them could even begin to make heads or tails of the situation, however, Clay appeared with a vaguely familiar man in tow. By the accent he was sporting as he muttered to Clay, it was painfully clear that he was Irish.

"Where's the kid?" he demanded, Aedan standing up and moving over to the Irishman who was firmly gripping a black duffel bag.

"My room," Chibs said, "Why?"

"Little Mickey here has a gift for her. Something about a favor owed or some shit like that."

Apparently Clay's voice was louder than either of the two Sons realized, for Ailis made a prompt appearance. The only obvious signs that she'd been crying was the slightly red hue to the skin around her eyes. She walked right up to the man and looked him square in the eyes.

"Luaithreach a luaithreach..." she said suspiciously, the man clearly relieved to have found the person who the bag was for.

"Deannaigh a deannaigh," he replied quickly, handing the duffel over.

"I'd get back asap, 'fore Jimmy realizes you've come ta see me," she suggested, the man nodding in response before disappearing from whence he'd come as quickly as possible.

"Care to let me in on your little secret?" Clay questioned, Ailis frowning. Regardless of the fact that she really didn't want to tell the vaguely intimidating president a damn thing, she knew that if she wanted to stick around any longer than he was willing to put up with her she might as well start making nice now.

"Jimmy sent me over here to kill that Alex fellow, as I'm sure ye've figured out by now," she began, setting the duffel bag down by her feet.

"He said that Alex had deserted the IRA and ratted out several members, claimed that Aedan had confronted him about it, and he'd shot him dead. Jimmy told me that since it was my right to get revenge, he wanted me to go even the score and kill Alex for ratting us out...for killing Aedan. When I walked in and the Sons were there I knew something was wrong. Couldn't take any chances, so I called in an old favor to get all the necessaries sent to me," she said, pointing to the bag at her feet.

"I told the guy that owed me to tell Des that everything was fine, that I'd had to leave suddenly but would be back if I could, and he told me that Des had died in a car crash that morning on the way to work...but Des doesn't even drive to work. Somethin's up, and I haven't the foggiest what it might be..."


End file.
